Red Hawk Golf Club
Red Hawk Golf Club is an Arthur Hills design in East Tawas, about 17.5 miles from the Oscoda Lakehouse — roughly 22 minutes down US-23 through East Tawas. Hills is the Michigan architect most associated with courses that work with natural terrain rather than against it, and Red Hawk shows that approach clearly. The fairways roll with the land. There's real elevation change on several holes, which is unusual for this part of the state.
Red Hawk is electric-cart-only, which keeps the pace quiet. No gas engines, no noise between shots. For golfers who want to actually hear the course — wind in the pines, birds, the occasional thwack from a neighboring fairway — that's a meaningful detail.
The course plays through classic northeast Michigan scenery: hardwoods, some sandy scrub, and views that feel more remote than a 22-minute drive would suggest. It's well-maintained and walkable in terms of cart routing. If you're pairing golf with a few days on the lake, Red Hawk is the kind of round where you won't rush the back nine.
Lakewood Shores Resort
Lakewood Shores is closer — 4.8 miles from the Oscoda Lakehouse, about 8 minutes. The resort has four courses, but The Gailes is the reason most people make the trip. Golf Digest recognized it as a Best New Resort Course when it opened, and the reputation has held up. The design is Scottish links-style: wide corridors, natural fescue rough, minimal tree interference, and wind as a real factor in club selection.
Playing The Gailes feels different from most Michigan courses. The wide fairways and absence of heavy tree cover put shot shape back in play. The fescue rough is penal if you miss badly, but fair. Wind off the open stretches changes the math on approach shots in a way that a wooded parkland course never does. Golfers come from Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana specifically to play it — not as a side trip, but as the destination.
The other three courses — Blackshire, Serradella, and the shorter Wee Links — give you options for a second or third day without repeating yourself. Blackshire is the most tree-lined of the four, a contrast to The Gailes that makes a two-round day there feel like two different courses. Serradella plays through pines and elevation. Wee Links is a good option if you want a quick nine without committing to a full round.
Check ahead on the clubhouse situation — there was a rebuild underway; confirm what's open on-site before you plan a post-round meal there.
Also Worth a Round
Tawas Creek Golf Course in Tawas City is a solid local option if you want a lower-key afternoon round — shorter, less dramatic than Red Hawk or The Gailes, but well-kept and easy to walk.